Relationship Counselling and Life Transitions

Relationship Counselling

Relationships with partners, family members and friends can be supportive, nurturing and life enriching but they can also be complicated and stressful. Talking to a Psychologist who specializes in relationship counselling can help individuals and/or couples to develop more healthy fulfilling relationships. Relationship counselling, in the first instance, is to support you in your current relationship by improving communication and conflict resolution skills. However, sometimes relationship counselling can be used to assist both partners when the relationship is over but to minimize destruction to each other, children and family friends. Relationship counselling is not about taking one side or the other it is about supporting all into a healthier relationship.

Whatever relationship it is – partners, lesbian, parent/sibling, etc, relationship counselling can be useful to sort through the issues and make decisions in a calm, logical way and not in the heat of the moment. Even if your partner, family member or friend isn’t willing to participate in relationship counselling, speaking to a Psychologist from Sheridan’s Psychology Pty Limited can help improve your relationship skills by:

Enhancing your self-awareness, particularly in relationship to negative interaction styles you may have unconsciously learned within your family of origin

Naming the issues underlying conflict within relationships in a non-blaming way

Considering whether your expectations of your self, partner, family member or friend are realistic, particularly if you often find yourself feeling upset or resentful because someone else has failed to ‘fulfill’ your needs

Helping you to communicate your feelings in a healthy assertive manner rather than ‘bottling them up’ or ‘losing it’

Relationship counselling will help you to improve your perspective on issues

Helping you to establish healthy boundaries so that you can be emotionally and physically safe, especially if there is a pattern of verbal or physical aggression within the relationship

Helping you to maintain a separate sense of identity whilst being connected to others in a positive, mutually respectful way

Life Transitions

Even positive events or normal life transitions such as moving house, changing job, retiring or becoming a parent can place healthy and loving relationships under stress. Life transitions can ‘drain’ our emotional, physical and/or financial resources often leaving us feeling tired, irritable and tense. Some life transitions, such as becoming a parent or stepparent may trigger feelings of self-doubt and anxiety particularly for those experiencing Post Natal Depression. Talking to a Psychologist can help you to cope with the stress associated with positive life transitions by giving you a safe space to talk to a caring non-judgmental professional who can teach you effective stress management skills including relaxation techniques and mindfulness exercises.

Life transitions, which are outside our control, unexpected and/or involve loss such as the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, divorce or losing a job can be particularly difficult to cope with. Talking to a Psychologist can help you to cope with painful feelings such as grief, sadness, anger, resentment, disappointment or confusion. Speaking to a Psychologist can help you to develop the self-soothing and self-care skills necessary to cope with loss, grief and loneliness.

The experienced and capable Psychologists at Sheridan’s Psychology would like to help you to improve your relationships and/or cope with the stress associated with life transitions.

The services provided by Psychologist’s within our practice are covered by Medicare, Private Health Funds, CTP, WorkCover and privately funded.